


"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."

by LuciaWilt



Series: Cross Time [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, Crossing Timelines, Edward Elric Swears, Edward Elric is his father's son, Eventual Romance, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 14:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciaWilt/pseuds/LuciaWilt
Summary: Edward Elric knew something was very, very wrong.





	"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."

**Author's Note:**

> Do you ever think about how Ed and Al turned into beef cakes at the end of brotherhood, because I think about that every god damn night.

Edward Elric knew something was very, very wrong. Right when his eyes opened onto an unfamiliar surroundings, he felt his heart rate pick up. There were just too many things in his life that he finally got sorted. Surprises in the form of him waking up in a strange place were his least favorite things; especially after all that had happened to him in the mess of the “revolution”. After the Promised Day four years ago, Edward was quick to get his life into “normalcy”. He just wanted a normal life for Alphonse and if he had to set an example for that, then he would do just that. However he never realized that wonder lust was in his blood. It was one of the many things he got from his father which just pissed Edward off even further. 

He ended up marrying Winry and having a few kids and he did not regret doing so. However, he regretted putting that burden on her, the burden that he loved her but never loved her the way a husband loves his wife. It had always been the love of a brother and sister. He wanted so badly for Alphonse to have a normal life that he ran into a marriage he should have never gotten into in the first place. 

It didn’t help that Alphonse always took after Ed’s, in his own personal opinion, worst characteristics. The first chance Alphonse got, he ran off to Xing to study alkahestry with Mei Chang. So that was Ed’s cue to run off to Creta…then to Xing himself… then to Aerugo…. And to Drachma. He knew he was avoiding going home and he knew that Winry didn’t deserve his ambiguous replies as to when he would be coming back to Amestris. Ed also knew he did not deserve Winry being as kind to him as she had been. He was the worst person ever and all she ever did was be so incredibly patient, he almost wanted her to scream and shout at him. 

So yes, waking up in a foreign room after everything he had gone through was on the bottom of his priorities. He sat up, finding that he was on a couch in a dim room. Ed looked from side to side and spotted Alphonse sleeping soundly on the couch across from him which was even more bizarre. The last time he contacted Alphonse, he was in Xing. Ed stood and continued to exam the room, noting that it was some sort of sitting area with a fire place and covered from tip to top with old books. He recognized some of the titles but that was on the back of his mind. Right now, he felt the heavy weight of the pistol on his side. When he was younger, and he still had alchemy, guns seemed absolutely terrifying. It was the thing that killed Hughes and Ed, for the longest time, wanted nothing to do with it. After traveling across the continent and back, he soon found out that if he wanted to survive with at least the clothing on his back then he needed to carry a gun with him. 

He did one more look around the room, noticing that there was a hallway that presumably led further into the house, before turning back to Al. Ed knelt down beside the couch and placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. With a quick shake, the younger male was already wide awake from the deep sleep he had just been in. “We’ve got trouble.” Ed hated that he had to say that, feeling as though he was 13 again and working for Mustang and the military, always on the run from one thing or another. Yes neither Al nor he had taken to normalcy as well as he had hoped, but it had been better then searching for the Philosophers stone and fighting homunculus. 

Al jumped up from the couch and was immediately surveying the room, just as Ed had done when he got up. It didn’t take long for Al to catch up to Ed’s awareness of the situation. Once he did, he turned back to Ed. “Have you checked the rest of the place yet?” Ed shook his head before turning to head out of the room, though slowly at that. Now he took out his gun and held it at the readying, taking each turn around each corner as slowly and as cautiously as he could. 

It did not take long for the two of them to cover the entire place. From what it looked like, it was a single family town house. It looked quite a bit like the one Hawkeye had bought when she and Rebecca Catalina moved in together. The entire place was covered in books and loose sheets of paper. When the two of them got back down to the ground floor and into the sitting room that was right next to, what Ed presumed was an exterior door, Alphonse apparently could not hold back his curiosity any longer. He reached down and picked up one of the books. It was inconspicuous, just some piece about biology of land animals. He watched his younger brother flip through some pages before it snapped shut with a loud THWAM. It had Ed jumping, wondering as to what Alphonse seemed so startled about.

But the younger brother simply turned towards the door that hopefully went outside and carefully opened it without another word in Ed’s direction. 

Just as he suspected, it was a door that led outside. What he had not excepted was where they walked outside to.

As he had thought about it right when he woke up, Ed himself had been in Resembol the last he remembered. That, and Al had been Xing. 

They absolutely had not been in Central where they were currently standing; apparently in walking distance to Command. There was no mistaking that silhouette, even through the pouring rain. 

~’~

Coming back from the North was no small feat for Roy Mustang. He knew he should have died up there. Or at least, he knew that until Edward Elric appeared in his life once again. Like an avenging angel blazoned in gold, Edward flew back into Roy’s heart with such ferocity Roy could barely speak for weeks after. It felt like everything had been righted in the world, like there was truth and beauty; like it was all just settled. 

And as much as Roy knew he did not deserve the promotion to Brigadier General, or to have Edward and his brother back in his life, he selfishly horded all of it. If he would be allowed to, Roy would kiss the ground Edward, and by default Alphonse, walked on. He loved those two boys to the ends of the universe and back. Of course the types of love he felt for either of them were different, but they were love none the less. And now that he had them back, there was no way he was going to let them get hurt again; not after all they went through.

So he never let either of them go on missions without the other. When Edward was gone, Alphonse joined the military. It was a shock that Edward was not furious when he came back, and Roy was glad. Alphonse was perhaps the only person that could be smarter than Edward on the planet. Now to have both of them under his command; he felt as though he could do anything. Which was the next step in his plan.

To become Fuhrer. And with those two by his side, as well as the rest of his team, Roy was sure he could do it.

A knock broke him out of his thoughts, making him glance up at the door with his one good eye. “Come in.” He said and without much surprise, Riza walked in. Though her expression was terse. The only way he was able to tell was he had known her for as long as he did. Anyone else would just think she was as blank faced as ever. 

She came to parade rest as the door closed behind her; tense enough to make Roy pause and put the piece of paper he had been reading down on his desk. It was a good thing none the less, whatever this distraction may be. His head had been killing him anyways. “What is it?” He asked, knowing that she really had been trying to hold back whatever it was. And Riza was about to speak, about to say something, when the door opened beside her. One of the young secretaries that worked the front desk for all of Command was panting; obviously having just ran from the front to Roy’s desk on the upper floor in the back wing. 

Now he turned to him. “What is it?” He was still patient. Too many things have happened in his life for him not to be sober and somber. Ishval and what he did cut the happiness and Ed and Al stopped the drinking.

The young man finally was able to speak again after a moment. “There was a commotion out on the parade ground sir. 1st lieutenant Brandon and 2nd lieutenant Shane are holding the man back right now sir.”

“What man?” The question had both Riza and the kid shifting as they stood there. It was enough for Roy to question it again, this time less patient and soft then the first. Finally he spoke.

“Well sir, he says he is Edward Elric but it doesn’t particularly look like him. And he doesn’t have a State Alchemist watch.” Roy was up and out of his chair before the kid could finish his sentence. The rest of his team was obviously listening since they ran right after him as he sprinted out of the office.

Some person that looked kind of like Edward? What the hell was that supposed to mean? And what did that imply? How could someone look like Edward? And not having his watch. Well that sounded a bit more like his Edward. None the less he would get to the bottom of it. He could only hope it did not mean what he thought it mean. Though the homunculus knew exactly what Edward looked like; especially with their strange obsession with him. 

Before long he made it to the bottom floor and ran out the front doors into the pouring rain. The parade grounds were empty aside from a small group on the other side. He was praying to whoever would listen that he did not need alchemy considering the rain; and considering he did not want Riza fighting for him, not anymore that is. 

“Let go of me.” Roy swallowed as the all came to a slow jog before stopping. That was definitely Edward’s voice, though it sounded lower and more mature. 

“Please brother don’t cause problems.” And that was definitely Alphonse and it ABSOLUTELY sounded older and lower then his usually voice. The two soliders finally moved to the side when they spotted Roy and his team and Roy almost wished they didn’t.

There stood Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric…but not. It was…it was bizarre. Like he was looking through to a parallel dimension where all their lives had been different. 

Edward was taller and broader, though still not as tall as Mustang himself. He had both his arms and both his legs which perhaps surprised Roy the most. Then his eyes slid over to Alphonse. The only way he could actually tell it was Alphonse was because the face. Everything else about him was different. He looked more the age he was reportedly supposed to be; which of course was just a year instead of nearly a decade with all the strange Gate happenings.

The two brothers finally spotted him and froze rather similarly to how him and his team were. Even with the rain drenching everyone, in that moment, Roy knew this was Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric; not Homunculi or any other creature. 

It just wasn’t his Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric.

“What the fuck?” It was the first words directed at him from Edward, not that it surprised him all that much. “Mustang?”

“Hello Edward.” Calling him by that name obviously was not what the blonde wanted to hear. He frowned.

“Who the hell are you? Pretty sure you aren’t Mustang. He doesn’t call me Edward, not since I was young.”

“I think we should talk inside.” Was Roy’s immediate response because the other soldiers were starting to stare and he really did not feel like speaking about the Alchemy the Elric’s always get involved with around others. 


End file.
